Status update on one of the largest modernization projects on the Danube: On November 5, viadonau once again welcomed numerous high-level representatives from European transport ministries, waterway administrations, ports, logistics companies, and environmental stakeholders to its headquarters in Vienna for the 3rd Advisory Committee Meeting on the transnational FAIRway Danube II project. Discussions centered on the current status of the initiative and the forthcoming steps toward developing a state-of-the-art transport system along the entire Danube.
Photo: © viadonau/Zinner
Since its official launch in 2023, the FAIRway Danube II project, coordinated by viadonau, has been progressing successfully as the ambitious continuation of its internationally recognized predecessor. Recent activities demonstrate the project’s steady progress and ambition: The contract for the expansion of the transnational Waterway Monitoring System (WAMOS) was signed in May 2025. Starting next year (2026), this system will also provide information about shallow water spots. The pilot project “Flexible Infrastructure“ is another successful initiative, which began east of Vienna and will also be implemented in Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria: The project offers a mobile and adjustable approach to river management. Furthermore, construction work to upgrade mooring areas in Aschach (Upper Austria) and on the Danube–Black Sea Canal commenced in the fall of this year. These are just some of the major milestones of this large modernization project, which is co-financed by the European Union.
With this project worth around €70 million (EU funding share: approx. €47 million), the EU and its partner countries in the project -Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Romania- are sending a clear, forward-looking signal for the sustainable improvement of shipping conditions and for flexible, climate-resilient solutions on the river.
"Reliable international transport infrastructure and the decarbonization of the transport system are at the heart of our agenda – and inland waterway transport plays a crucial role in this. We are therefore particularly grateful to the European Union for its support for important projects that strengthen the Danube waterway not only in Austria but along the entire corridor," explains Vera Hofbauer, Head of Section at the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility, and Infrastructure (BMIMI).
"FAIRway Danube II builds on the successes of its predecessor and consistently continues the thriving modernization trajectory of the Danube. Our main goal is to offer shipping and industry a consistently high quality of service and navigation channels along its entire navigable length, thus making the waterway not only an environmentally friendly alternative, but also a real opportunity for a European transport network that is both efficient and sustainable," says viadonau project manager Andreas Bäck.
FAIRway Danube II is co-financed by the European Union through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and is a follow-up project to the CEF flagship FAIRway Danube (www.fairwaydanube.eu), which has already significantly expanded the knowledge about shoals and maintenance measures on the Danube.
Photo gallery 3. Advisory Committee Meeting - FAIRway Danube II
